Pistons 119, Spurs 109

The Spurs played again without stars Tim Duncan (knee) and Manu Ginobili (hamstring). The Pistons took advantage, racing to a big lead out of the gate and withstanding a second-half rally to establish a season high for points in a regulation game.

Brandon Knight scored 24 points and Charlie Villanueva added a season-high 21 off the bench for Detroit, which had a 49-33 advantage on the glass. Tony Parker scored 31 in San Antonio's first loss since an overtime setback at Memphis on Jan. 11.

Kyle Singler's jumper with 1:42 left in the first half gave Detroit a 65-44 lead. However, the Spurs scored the final eight points of the half to make it a 13-point game at the break and got within nine points late in the third.

Monroe scored eight points in a quarter-ending 14-6 burst as the Pistons carried a 17-point cushion into the fourth, but again San Antonio rallied to trim its deficit to seven points on a Kawhi Leonard 3-pointer with 4:47 left. Knight answered with a 3 of his own and Villanueva added another moments later to help ice it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit shot 59.1 percent (26-for-44) in the first half. ... Leonard scored 16 points and Danny Green had 15 on five 3-pointers for the Spurs. ... The Pistons used just eight players. The trio of reserves -- Villanueva, Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey -- combined for 41 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.